Adelaide/Churchill is a mostly residential neighbourhood located in south-central Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is a suburbansubdivision, consisting mostly of low-density, single detached dwellings. As of 2009, the area is home to 3,445 residents. The neighbourhood is considered a middle-income area, with an average family income of $78,438, an average dwelling value of $287,976 and a home ownership rate of 90.3%.[1]

History

Churchill School was built in 1956, but served as a public school for just under thirty years before closing.[5] Hugh Cairns V.C. School was opened in 1960. It was named after Hugh Cairns (VC), a Canadian soldier from World War I whose hometown was Saskatoon. He was posthumously awarded theVictoria Cross, the British Commonwealth's highest award for bravery in battle.[6] Coincidentally, the school is located on Cairns Avenue; however the street was actually named for local pioneer John Cairns, not the soldier.[7]The most of the land for the Adelaide/Churchill neighbourhood was annexed by the city between 1910 and 1919, with the remaining southern piece annexed between 1960 and 1969.[2] According to a 1913 map of registered subdivisions, the area was divided in two: Victoria Park to the north of Ruth Street and Park Adelaide to the south.[3] The two were developed as Churchill (north) and Adelaide Park (south) - with Ruth Street as the dividing line - but were combined into a single neighbourhood when the city redrew its neighbourhood boundaries in the 1990s. The layout of the streets reflects the urban planning philosophies of the day when the land was developed. The north part of the neighbourhood, developed just afterWorld War II, follows a traditional grid pattern. By the 1950s, the design of residential neighbourhoods used a modern system of curving residential streets, feeding into collector roads that connected to arterial roads. Thus, the southern part of the neighbourhood follows this design practice.[4]

A divisive debate occurred in 2008 when the Saskatoon Full Gospel Church, owners of the former Churchill School, sought approval to demolish the structure and build a new church and attached condominium complex. Area residents complained that the new building would increase traffic on residential streets, and clash with the existing character of the neighbourhood. Ultimately, city council approved the project and it was under construction as of 2013.[8]

Build-out of the neighbourhood was mostly complete by the mid-1970s, however some additional development in its southwest corner occurred in the late 1980s. In addition, construction of an interchange at Clarence Avenue and Circle Drive, in the planning stages since the 1960s, was completed in the late 2000s, facilitating resident access to the freeway and to the major commercial development at Stonebridge.

In Saskatoon's non-partisan municipal politics, Adelaide/Churchill lies within ward 7. It is currently represented by CouncillorMairin Loewen, who was elected to city council on February 9, 2011 in a by-election. At the time, she was the youngest person ever elected to Saskatoon's City Council.[9] She was re-elected in 2012.